How to be a Good Friend...To a Dog

Dogs need people to help take care of them; being a good friend to a dog means being a calm leader and also a responsible pet owner. As we talked about earlier, it is up to us (people) to make sure that dogs have exercise, discipline and affection, and also food, water, and medical care. We talked about how we need to exercise often. So do dogs. Dogs are used to walking and working for food and we need to give them enough exercise and play time every day to keep their bodies and minds active. There are other ways that we can be a good friend to a dog. Teacher, choose some examples such as:

How does making sure your dog has an identification tag or collar help our pets?

Making sure your dog has an identification tag or collar with its name and your phone number will help in case your dog gets lost; anyone finding him/ her will be able to contact your family and make sure your pet gets home to you safely.

We can also be good friends to our dogs by being a pack leader - dogs look up to a fair leader, and it's up to their owners to fulfill that role. Dogs respect rules – it helps them know when and how to act.

Remaining calm and consistent in how we talk to and treat our dogs will help to teach them the rules and make sure they are followed. Finally, it's important to show our dogs that we appreciate and care for them. Just like our friends, the better we treat and care for our dogs, the better they are likely to treat and care for us!

What do you do to show your dog that you care and appreciate him/her?

Objective:

Children will learn how to care for their dog and be a responsible pet owner.

The Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum is an innovative PreK-12 curriculum that developscalm, confident, caring kids and creates a more humane future for all throughsocial and emotional learning. An initiative of North Shore Animal League America’sprogram development branch, The Pet Savers Foundation™, Inc., the Curriculumwas developed by Yale University's School of the 21st Century.